Married Strictly star ‘caught kissing pro dancer in video that could destroy his family man image’

Strictly Come Dancing has been hit with fresh controversy over reports that a former married contestant was caught kissing a professional dancer.

The male celebrity from a previous series of the scandal-hit show, who has a “carefully cultivated family man image”, was reportedly seen smooching a female dancer in a dressing room.

The dancer was allegedly sat on the knee of the former contestant and they shared a kiss in a 12-second video secretly recorded on the Strictly set at Elstree Studios.

The pair in question have dismissed romance rumours in the past and the alleged footage would “destroy” the male celebrity’s marriage, sources claimed.

The alleged clip, taken by a member of the production team, has been doing the rounds on WhatsApp and could “rock the very foundations” of the BBC dance competition.

Presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly (PA Media)

“This incident has been the talk of Strictly in very need-to-know for the past couple of years,” a source told The Sun.

The insider went on: “The kiss only lasts a few seconds but it would more than likely end his marriage and destroy his carefully cultivated family man image.

“It has been shared around on WhatsApp though as everyone is slightly sickened by this pair’s duplicitousness especially as they always knocked down scurrilous romance rumours.”

It is not known who the alleged man and woman referred to in the report are.

The Standard has contacted the BBC for comment.

The reports are just the latest in a line of controversies for the show, which has faced the dreaded “Strictly curse” for years.

The curse refers to when a contestant ends up falling for their dance partner, despite one or both of them already being in a relationship.

One of the most notable cases was in 2018, when contestant Seann Walsh cheated on Rebecca Humphries with his married dance partner Katya Jones.

The show has also faced scandal in other areas in recent years.

Seann Walsh was caught kissing partner Katya Jones in 2018 (BBC)

Actor Amanda Abbington stepped back from filming during the 2023 season, later alleging her dance partner Giovanni Pernice had been “unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean” during rehearsals, which he denies.

A BBC report found that Pernice had not been physically aggressive but did uphold her complaints of verbal bullying and harassment, and apologised to Abbington.

The 2024 season was also mired in scandal due to opera singer Wynne Evans.

Evans drew criticism from viewers who felt he was overly touchy with his partner Katya Jones on the show. He was later heard making sexual remarks during the launch of the Strictly live tour.

Evans apologised, but he was dropped from the tour and lost his GoCompare advert deal.

Meanwhile, over the summer, two Strictly stars were alleged to have used cocaine during filming.

The stars were said to be “well known” cocaine users, with one of their colleagues allegedly telling a celebrity “have you seen their pupils… they’re off their face”.

The BBC responded by launching an investigation and the Metropolitan Police are now involved.